


when the music stops, continue with the dance

by stellarfluid (dykeabetic)



Series: My Zombies, Make! Pieces [2]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: M/M, Other, also i used this to practice some neopronouns i wanna start using myself!, and now theyre / ve’s dancing in the middle of janine’s old family room, idk if thats what they call those in the UK sorrt, my five used to dance in the royal ballet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:14:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25663456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dykeabetic/pseuds/stellarfluid
Summary: “You used to be a dancer, Five?!”Runner Five (Cain) gets to relive some of the days they lived before the zombie apocalypse. Sam gets to watch— and participate a bit.Also pronouns practice for the author — there are two versions of the same story, but they used different sets of pronouns for Runner Five.
Relationships: Runner Five/Sam Yao
Series: My Zombies, Make! Pieces [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1848844
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello! this is another piece i started for zombies, make but i wasnt really able to fully participate in that round so i went and finished it up now. its not much! 
> 
> anyway i also used this as a way to practice the neopronouns im wanna start using for myself. ve/ver/vis pronouns! so the first chapter im using they/them/theirs prns for cain and the second chapter is literally the exact same thing except i used ve/ver/vis instead. thanks!
> 
> also the original story i finished with the latter pronouns, so sorry about any typos that might have resulted from swapping back to they/them!
> 
> also the title references “be the hero” from the musical big fish!

“You used to be a _dancer?!”_

Sam wasn’t quite sure why he was surprised. It made sense, really— the petite yet toned muscles, the stamina, the flexibility that sometimes made him cringe.

“Yeah,” Cain said simply, lacing up the ballet shoes that they had gone off course to pick up during the last run, which, admittedly, had scared Sam a little bit. Cain promised him it was for morale, though, and since Maxine had always talked about the importance of morale, well… Sam guessed it couldn’t hurt.

They were still in their running clothes, but their usual shoes were thrown to the side, not currently needed as Cain finished lacing up the second shoe of this new, special pair. They were in the communal part of what used to be Janine’s family room— now a place for residents of Able to rest and take breaks. It was a homey room, with a deep red rug that matched the closed curtains, simple brown furniture, and a fireplace that was rarely ever lit, but Sam knew it would be as soon as the winter chill came in. Now, the late-summer sun poured through the curtains, making the whole room a reddish color.

After a beat, Sam realized that, if Cain was going to dance, it probably shouldn’t be on the rug. Or, at least, he thought it shouldn’t be… he was never one for ballet, but whenever he saw pictures or videos or whatever of dancers, they were always on smooth surfaces.

“Do you, uhh... do you want me to roll up the carpat for you?”

Cain blinked. They didn’t think of that. “Um. If you want?”

“Right, then.” Sam took the edge of the rug and began to roll it forward, past where Cain was sitting on the sofa. Cain watched him, relatively expressionless, but if Sam looked close enough, he could see that tinge of affection that always showed a bit when they looked at him. 

“There… we… go!” he said as he rolled the rug up against the unlit fireplace. “A perfect spot for you to dance.”

Cain smiled at him. “Thank you,” they said, and stood up. 

Sam wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He did know, however, that he didn’t expect the shoes that Cain had picked up to be pointe shoes, nor did he expect them to go en pointe. When they stood, not only did they rise to their normal height of 188 cm, but a whole ten centimeters taller. Sam couldn’t help to gawk a bit, noting how Cain towered over him even more now.

Cain laughed. “I know I don’t seem the type to go en pointe… I never really got to, in the professional scene. But I’ve always liked it more.” They wobbled a bit then, starling Sam, and braced themself against the sofa, laughing more.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s been, what, six months since I’ve done this? Give or take? Honestly, I haven’t been keeping track. I need to get used to it again.”

Sam watched as they slowly let go of the sofa again, practiced balancing on both feet, then moved to practicing other simple moves in the shoes; like pirouettes, or things that required standing on only one. It had Sam in a bit of a trance. 

He snapped out of it when Cain chuckled and said, “You’re staring.” Now it was Sam’s turn to let flow a small rush of apologies, only for Cain to laugh a bit again. 

“You can watch,” they said. “I think I’m good. My muscle memory is kicking in.”

“Okay,” Sam said. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a distraction, o-or—“

“Sam, I’ve literally performed on stage. I was in, like, the Nutcracker. And Swan Lake. And you know how focused I get. You won’t distract me at all.”

“Okay…”

Cain walked across the floor to the corner of the room and got themself into a starting position, raising their arms with only a little flourish. Then, they paused. “I’m just now realizing how hard this is gonna be in such a small space,” they said, laughing a bit.

“Oh, I’m sure you can figure it out,” Sam said. He had sat on the sofa and had taken off his shoes, tucking setting them to the side and pulling his legs onto the sofa as well (wouldn’t want to get mud on Janine’s sofa). 

“Oh my God, wait,” they said, their eyes lighting up. “What if I try— this might be a very bad idea, especially since I haven’t danced in a while, but I’m gonna try and do some mixture of both parts of the Coda from Black Swan pas de deux.”

“I have no clue what that means.”

“It’s from Swan Lake,” they grinned as they shifted their position slightly. they began to hum quietly, tapping a beat on their thigh— assumedly to get a feel for the music— before bounding a few steps forward into the dance, leading into some beautiful spinning leaps. 

Now, once again, Sam had never been one for ballet — it had, quite frankly, bored him a bit — but as Cain danced now, leaping and spinning and extending their arms and legs gracefully, all confined in the space of Janine’s family room, Sam was simply transfixed. He couldn’t stop watching with wide eyes, barely noticing how his jaw hung open as Cain quickly made their way to the front of the room again, and began a series of spins on pointe that lasted so long that Sam felt dizzy just watching them. As ve paused for a moment, spreading out their arms in a pose for a moment before going into the spins again, Sam could see the look of pure joy on their face that he only got to see rarely— and one that he was sure he was the only one who had gotten to see in a while. It made his heart feel like Cain looked when ve did those leaps— high, light, and airy. 

This spins ended, and Cain paused again, landing in a pose with one leg extended behind the other and an arm above their head and to their side, before making their way to the opposite corner of the room from Sam, moving in his direction. “Put your arms out!” they called as they got closer, before finally reaching out and ghosting their fingers along his arms, then began to slowly moving away from him en pointe. “It’s a part of the dance,” ve winked, before bringing a leg back and an arm overhead and moving to leaps instead. After doing that for a moment, they called, “WAIT! Come stand a couple feet in front of me, like in the center of the room!”

“What?! Why?!”

They didn’t answer the question— just smiled as they did the next couple of the dance and said, “Trust me! C’mere.”

Sam hesitantly made his way to the middle of the room, just for Cain to say, “You’re going to do this last part with me.”

“Huh?!”

“Just jump a bit when I tell you too and then step to the side a bit and get down on one knee,” they said in a rush, starting into another small bout of spinning. As they finished, ve moved forward and put their hands on Sam’s hips.

“Jump!” they said, and Sam didn’t hesitate then— and Cain lifted him off the ground for a breathtaking moment before setting him back down, giggling all the while. 

“Now kneel!” they called, and Sam did, just in time for Cain to offer him one hand as they leaned back and extended the other over their head, grinning wildly.

After a few seconds of starstruck silence, as Sam looked at his beautiful, graceful boyfriend standing so tall, lovely, and utterly happy, someone on the threshold began to clap.

“Bra-vo!” a voice called, and Sam’s head snapped in the direction to see Maxine there, laughing and applauding. “That was incredible!”

“How long were you watching?!” Sam asked, at the same time as Cain laughing and saying, “Ah, thank you… it was fun!”

“Pretty much the whole time,” Maxine said to answer Sam’s question. “I’ve always liked watching ballets. I didn’t know you used to be a dancer, though, Five! Were you in Swan Lake?” 

Cain nodded, still beaming like the sun. “Last year,” they said cheerfully.

“And Sam!” Maxine quickly switched targets. “You jumped right in as if it were nothing! I think you whole have been a dancer!” she laughed, obviously joking, but seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

“Uh-huh, yeah,” Sam snapped back, moving to lift himself off the ground. As soon as he was standing again, though, Cain already had their hands on back his waist, and was leaning in to rest their lips and nose against Sam’s cheek.

“Thanks for humoring me,” they said. “It was nice. And you did do splendidly. I’m very proud of you.”

Sam still couldn’t keep from completely blanking out whenever Cain was close like this— it still flustered him, made his heart all fluttery, gave him butterflies in his stomach. 

“O-oh, it was nothing,” he said. “I was just doing what you were shouting at me.”

Cain chuckled. “Well, still, you did them very well. Besides, that’s what I do all the time on runs and you still praise me.” Then, they moved to kiss Sam’s lips, gently and lovingly, and Sam leaned into it.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled after they separated. “We should do that again sometime.”

Cain smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he tucked a strand of hair behind Cain’s ear. “Also, I just realized something.”

“What?”

“Turns out, ballet dancers are pretty hot.”

And that set Cain off laughing, which was always very nice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> literally the same thing as the last one but with different pronouns.

“You used to be a _dancer?!”_

Sam wasn’t quite sure why he was surprised. It made sense, really— the petite yet toned muscles, the stamina, the flexibility that sometimes made him cringe.

“Yeah,” Cain said simply, lacing up the ballet shoes that ve had gone off course to pick up during the last run, which, admittedly, had scared Sam a little bit. Cain promised him it was for morale, though, and since Maxine had always talked about the importance of morale, well… Sam guessed it couldn’t hurt.

Ve was still in vis running clothes, but vis usual shoes were thrown to the side, not currently needed as Cain finished lacing up the second shoe of this new, special pair. They were in the communal part of what used to be Janine’s family room— now a place for residents of Able to rest and take breaks. It was a homey room, with a deep red rug that matched the closed curtains, simple brown furniture, and a fireplace that was rarely ever lit, but Sam knew it would be as soon as the winter chill came in. Now, the late-summer sun poured through the curtains, making the whole room a reddish color.

After a beat, Sam realized that, if Cain was going to dance, it probably shouldn’t be on the rug. Or, at least, he thought it shouldn’t be… he was never one for ballet, but whenever he saw pictures or videos or whatever of dancers, they were always on smooth surfaces.

“Do you, uhh... do you want me to roll up the carpat for you?”

Cain blinked. Ve didn’t think of that. “Um. If you want?”

“Right, then.” Sam took the edge of the rug and began to roll it forward, past where Cain was sitting on the sofa. Cain watched him, relatively expressionless, but if Sam looked close enough, he could see that tinge of affection that always showed a bit when ve looked at him. 

“There… we… go!” he said as he rolled the rug up against the unlit fireplace. “A perfect spot for you to dance.”

Cain smiled at him. “Thank you,” ve said, and stood up. 

Sam wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He did know, however, that he didn’t expect the shoes that Cain had picked up to be pointe shoes, nor did he expect ver to go en pointe. When ve stood, not only did ve rise to vis normal height of 188 cm, but a whole ten centimeters taller. Sam couldn’t help to gawk a bit, noting how Cain towered over him even more now.

Cain laughed. “I know I don’t seem the type to go en pointe… I never really got to, in the professional scene. But I’ve always liked it more.” Ve wobbled a bit then, starling Sam, and braced themself against the sofa, laughing more.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s been, what, six months since I’ve done this? Give or take? Honestly, I haven’t been keeping track. I need to get used to it again.”

Sam watched as ve slowly let go of the sofa again, practiced balancing on both feet, then moved to practicing other simple moves in the shoes; like pirouettes, or things that required standing on only one. It had Sam in a bit of a trance. 

He snapped out of it when Cain chuckled and said, “You’re staring.” Now it was Sam’s turn to let flow a small rush of apologies, only for Cain to laugh a bit again. 

“You can watch,” ve said. “I think I’m good. My muscle memory is kicking in.”

“Okay,” Sam said. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a distraction, o-or—“

“Sam, I’ve literally performed on stage. I was in, like, the Nutcracker. And Swan Lake. And you know how focused I get. You won’t distract me at all.”

“Okay…”

Cain walked across the floor to the corner of the room and got verself into a starting position, raising ver arms with only a little flourish. Then, ve paused. “I’m just now realizing how hard this is gonna be in such a small space,” ve said, laughing a bit.

“Oh, I’m sure you can figure it out,” Sam said. He had sat on the sofa and had taken off his shoes, tucking setting them to the side and pulling his legs onto the sofa as well (wouldn’t want to get mud on Janine’s sofa). 

“Oh my God, wait,” ve said, ver eyes lighting up. “What if I try— this might be a very bad idea, especially since I haven’t danced in a while, but I’m gonna try and do some mixture of both parts of Black Swan pas de deux.”

“I have no clue what that means.”

“It’s from Swan Lake,” ve grinned as ve shifted ver position slightly. Ve began to hum quietly, tapping a beat on vis thigh— assumedly to get a feel for the music— before bounding a few steps forward into the dance, leading into some beautiful spinning leaps. 

Now, once again, Sam had never been one for ballet — it had, quite frankly, bored him a bit — but as Cain danced now, leaping and spinning and extending vis arms and legs gracefully, all confined in the space of Janine’s family room, Sam was simply transfixed. He couldn’t stop watching with wide eyes, barely noticing how his jaw hung open as Cain quickly made vis way to the front of the room again, and began a series of spins on pointe that lasted so long that Sam felt dizzy just watching ver. As ve paused for a moment, spreading out vis arms in a pose for a moment before going into the spins again, Sam could see the look of pure joy on vis face that he only got to see rarely— and one that he was sure he was the only one who had gotten to see in a while. It made his heart feel like Cain looked when ve did those leaps— high, light, and airy. 

This spins ended, and Cain paused again, landing in a pose with one leg extended behind the other and an arm above vis head and to vis side, before making vis way to the opposite corner of the room from Sam, moving in his direction. “Put your arms out!” ve called as ve got closer, before finally reaching out and ghosting vis fingers along his arms, then began to slowly moving away from him en pointe. “It’s a part of the dance,” ve winked, before bringing a leg back and an arm overhead and moving to leaps instead. After doing that for a moment, ve called, “WAIT! Come stand a couple feet in front of me, like in the center of the room!”

“What?! Why?!”

Ve didn’t answer the question— just smiled as ve did the next couple of the dance and said, “Trust me! C’mere.”

Sam hesitantly made his way to the middle of the room, just for Cain to say, “You’re going to do this last part with me.”

“Huh?!”

“Just jump a bit when I tell you too and then step to the side a bit and get down on one knee,” ve said in a rush, starting into another small bout of spinning. As ve finished, ve moved forward and put vis hands on Sam’s hips.

“Jump!” ve said, and Sam didn’t hesitate then— and Cain lifted him off the ground for a breathtaking moment before setting him back down, giggling all the while. 

“Now kneel!” ve called, and Sam did, just in time for Cain to offer him one hand as they leaned back and extended the other over vis head, grinning wildly.

After a few seconds of starstruck silence, as Sam looked at his beautiful, graceful boyfriend standing so tall, lovely, and utterly happy, someone on the threshold began to clap.

“Bra-vo!” a voice called, and Sam’s head snapped in the direction to see Maxine there, laughing and applauding. “That was incredible!”

“How long were you watching?!” Sam asked, at the same time as Cain laughing and saying, “Ah, thank you… it was fun!”

“Pretty much the whole time,” Maxine said to answer Sam’s question. “I’ve always liked watching ballets. I didn’t know you used to be a dancer, though, Five! Were you in Swan Lake?” 

Cain nodded, still beaming like the sun. “Last year,” ve said cheerfully.

“And Sam!” Maxine quickly switched targets. “You jumped right in as if it were nothing! I think you whole have been a dancer!” she laughed, obviously joking, but seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

“Uh-huh, yeah,” Sam snapped back, moving to lift himself off the ground. As soon as he was standing again, though, Cain already had vis hands on his waist, and was leaning in to rest vis lips and nose against Sam’s cheek.

“Thanks for humoring me,” ve said. “It was nice. And you did do splendidly. I’m very proud of you.”

Sam still couldn’t keep from completely blanking out whenever Cain was close like this— it still flustered him, made his heart all fluttery, gave him butterflies in his stomach. 

“O-oh, it was nothing,” he said. “I was just doing what you were shouting at me.”

Cain chuckled. “Well, still, you did them very well. Besides, that’s what I always do on runs, and you always praise me.” Then, ve moved to kiss Sam’s lips, gently and lovingly, and Sam leaned into it.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled after they separated. “We should do that again sometime.”

Cain smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he tucked a strand of hair behind Cain’s ear. “Also, I just realized something.”

“What?”

“Turns out, ballet dancers are pretty hot.”

And that set Cain off laughing, which was always very nice.

**Author's Note:**

> also here’s the dance im having them do! i imagine them doing a weird mix of both parts. may i add, im not a dancer and im not even sure if this was POSSIBLE but,, you know it’s fiction for a reason haha
> 
> https://youtu.be/XfmSv0z205s


End file.
